


A Life (No One Said It Had To Be Human)

by Onehelluvapilot



Series: Tumblr prompt fics [44]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s04e01-02 The Darkest Hour, Hurt/Comfort, Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onehelluvapilot/pseuds/Onehelluvapilot
Summary: "The wyverns all looked up suddenly, heads turning like a dog who had just heard a whistle that was inaudible to humans, before surging through the protective line created by Percival, Leon, and Elyan into the ruins of the castle. The blows from their swords and torches that had been keeping them back before seemed to have no effect in deterring them, though several blows did connect and should have wounded if not killed them. The beasts, driven by something greater, had no regard for their own safety. After just a brief confused glance at each other, the knights quickly followed. Their friends were in danger."
Relationships: Lancelot/Leon (Merlin)
Series: Tumblr prompt fics [44]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922554
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	A Life (No One Said It Had To Be Human)

The wyverns all looked up suddenly, heads turning like a dog who had just heard a whistle that was inaudible to humans, before surging through the protective line created by Percival, Leon, and Elyan into the ruins of the castle. The blows from their swords and torches that had been keeping them back before seemed to have no effect in deterring them, though several blows did connect and should have wounded if not killed them. The beasts, driven by something greater, had no regard for their own safety. After just a brief confused glance at each other, the knights quickly followed. Their friends were in danger. One of them was already planning on sacrificing himself, which was bad enough.

The wyverns moved much faster than them, and it was easy to get lost in the ruined castle, so it was several minutes before they reached a hallway ornate enough to lead to a ceremonial chamber. It wasn't the wyverns they encountered first though, but Gwaine. The knight smiled and when he saw them and began making his way forward, despite how he had to lean against the wall for stability. He must've taken a blow to the head; concussions always resulted in dizziness for him, although with how much he drank he was used to getting the spins and generally pretty good at dealing with it. Elyan and Percival rushed forward, instantly beginning to pepper him with questions. Leon, however, didn't move. Fear rooted him to the spot. Because if Gwaine was smiling, that had to mean the danger was over, and for the danger to be over, someone had to have sacrificed himself.

Before he could even begin to process the fact that Arthur, his sovereign and oldest friend, could be dead, the prince and his manservant stumbled out into the hallway from a doorway on the right. Arthur was leaning on Merlin and from the way he pressed a hand to his temple, it seemed likely that he had been knocked out as well. The wyverns, Leon thought, and regretted even more fiercely letting them get past him and inside. He couldn't help but be relieved that the prince was alive though, that his failure hadn't doomed the kingdom by leaving it without an heir.

Even as gladness flooded him from one side, grief filled him from the other. Because there was still one man missing, and someone had to have closed the veil. Lancelot. Oh gods, it had been Lancelot, hadn't it. Of course it had. The knight, despite being born a commoner, was the most noble man Leon had ever met, and his entire being was oriented towards protecting others. Of course such a compassionate soul would think nothing of giving up his own life for Arthur, his friends, and the entire kingdom. The First Knight had to lock his knees to keep from collapsing as he thought about never seeing his kind smile or caring eyes ever again. 

"Hey," someone said in a tauntingly familiar voice. Maybe that was an after effect of Lance having died by walking into the veil between worlds: his soul being trapped there, and haunting this world as a ghost. "Leon, look at me. It's okay." He hadn't even realized that he'd closed his eyes to prevent them from overflowing with tears, and they stung as he pried them open now. He could only bear to do so because there was a hand on his arm, squeezing tightly, and one calloused palm gently touching his cheek.

Lancelot stood in front of him, and he didn't look like a ghost. He was smiling softly, dark eyes crinkled at the corners and lips barely quirked upwards at the edges. Leon reached out to grab his arms, and he felt real, and solid.

"You're- you're alive!" He gasped, though it sounded a bit like a question. "H-how?"

"Merlin figured out that it didn't need to be a human life that was sacrificed, so we managed to chase one of the wyverns through the veil, and it closed. We're all alive."

Leon, whose brain was struggling to catch up with that information but whose heart had no problem accepting it, surged forward and captured Lancelot's smiling lips in a kiss. The knight immediately deepened it, tilting his head and pulling him closer.

"I thought I'd lost you," he admitted when they finally pulled back.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how it must've looked when the others all came out before me."

"It's okay," Leon said as he wrapped his arms around the other man and pulled him into a tight, tight hug. "Just don't ever scare me like that again."

"I'll do my very best not to," Lancelot whispered against his lips as he soothed him with another kiss.


End file.
